Chapter 2: Part 22

"I…Ibuki's hearing is super good," Ibuki said. Despite how helpful Ibuki's hearing is, she knew it was about to make things worse. Not wrong, but worse. They needed to find the one who got Kaito killed, but they didn't want to send someone to their death for an accident they had no control over. They were more of a victim than an actual culprit. Yet, Monokuma would most likely be uncaring towards that fact. As long as he got his despair and gore, he'd be happy. After a deep breath, Ibuki turned her attention to the poor perpetrator of Kaito's death.

"Nekomaru, it was you, right?" Ibuki asked.

Everyone in the room shifted their attention to the muscle-bond team manager. They saw him sweat profusely while averting his gaze from them. His ever-present confidence, gone. It was such a jarring change in demeanor that both Leon and Chihiro couldn't help but worry.

"Th-that's not true, right?" Water began to flow from Chihiro's eyes. "N-nekomaru didn't do it. H-he would never to that on purpose…"

"Hell no, he wouldn't!" Leon shouted suddenly. "This is bullshit, man! We're really turning on Nekomaru for something he didn't do?!"

"I heard it though," Ibuki said with a frown. "It was his voice."

"That doesn't prove shit, man!" Leon shouted even louder. "Of course, he shouted at the cardboard cutout! That doesn't mean he bumped into Kaito!"

"Leon…" Nekomaru finally spoke up. "There's no point in lying about it. I did bump into him…"

"Wh-what?" Chihiro gasped.

"I'm not lying though!" Leon shouted. "Really…i-it was me! I was the one that tripped into Kaito! I was with him the whole time too."

Celestia couldn't help herself upon hearing Leon. She shook her head while letting out a light giggle. "You're really going to bring up lying when I'm right here? I'm honestly insulted you'd try to say a lie as poor as that."

"Besides," Angie spoke up, "I was there with my team when it happened. At first, I didn't consider that tripping into Kaito would play a role in this outcome, but it's the truth. Nekomaru tripped into Kaito. Not you."

Leon grinded his teeth while the rest of the group turned their attention back to Nekomaru.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Nekomaru raised his head up to face the group. "Those damn cutouts kept jumping out as us the time we were in that maze. I honestly thought I had gotten used to them jump scaring us, but Kaito's screams would always get me right afterward. I…I couldn't help but jump."

"But that wasn't your fault!" Leon said with balled up fist. "You didn't set up the trap! You didn't kill-"

"I GOT HIM KILLED!" Nekomaru shouted over his former trainee. It stunned Leon into silence. "I didn't set up the trap," Nekomaru continued, "but I caused him to die…It is my fault."

"B-but it was an accident," Mikan said.

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened," Nekomaru said. "If I just cooled my nerves, or take one step to the side…Kaito may still be alive…"

Nekomaru hung his head down once again and silence fell across the group once again…For a moment. Monokuma would clap his paws together and let out a cheer.

"Powerful words as always, Nekomaru," Monokuma cheered with glee. "And you all came to that conclusion with three minutes left? So, why don't you all go ahead, cast your votes, and see if you go it right or-"

"NO WAY IN HELL!" Leon shouted over the plush headmaster. "There's no way we're letting Nekomaru die!"

"Calm down, dear Kuwata," Angie said with a calming smile. "While your anger is understandable, we can't just stand idly by. Our fates are all on the line."

"Then we just got to find the real killer then!" Leon snapped back. "There's got to be some clue that we haven't covered, right?"

"With Monokuma's time limit, I doubt we'd have the chance to properly go over it," Celestia said.

"B-but we got to do something," Chihiro said and in a rare sign of anger, slammed his hands against the podium. "I…I don't want anyone to die. And…if you're telling me to let someone die for something they didn't do…I can't…I just can't."

"Yeah!" Mondo chimed in. "We're going to find this son of a bitch!"

"Gonta help Nekomaru!" Gonta agreed. "Nekomaru is good!"

"Guys, don't make this choice for me," Nekomaru said. "If it's between my life and yours, I'll lay down my life for you every time! Why?! Because that's what a man does! So, stop wasting time and vote for me!"

"Y-you're sure, Mr. Nidai?" Hifumi asked sheepishly.

"So, you're willing die yet again?" Gundham asked. "Very well. I shall respect your wish."

"No way!" Kaede shouted. "Kaito wouldn't want you to take the fall for this!"

"Yet, he wouldn't want us to die, no?" Angie asked.

"Yeah, we're not going let his killer get away either," Mahiru said.

Kiyo crossed his arms and wagged his finger. "And what evidence will you point out? Or do you simply wish to waste our time preaching morality instead of finding the killer? The clock is ticking."

"Look, whatever gets me outta here faster, the better," Miu said.

"W-we just need a second!" Tenko protested. "In just a second, Sayaka or Kaede or someone will point one clue we all missed! Right?" Tenko shifted her view to Sayaka, hoping the idol would once again come in with a discovery.

However, Sayaka had nothing. She was just as worried and confused as the rest of the group. 'If we choose Nekomaru, we all get to live,' the idol thought to herself. 'But I can't just…I can't throw someone to the wolves again. I just can't! But what other choice to we have? Nekomaru's voice was the last clue I could think of.'

"Nekomaru," Sayaka spoke up, "are you really sure you want us to vote for you?"

"Yes," Nekomaru said. "Now, stop wasting time and just vote!"

"For the last time, no!" Leon shouted. "If we stop arguing, we may have some time left to find one more clue."

"Hmmm," Monokuma placed his paw against his chin. "Looks like all of you reached a split decision. You know there's only one way to settle this debate, right?"

"What are you talking about, you stupid be-" Hiyoko asked before stopping herself. "Wait, are you talking about that stupid scrum debate thing? What, are we going to float up in the air again?"

"You got it!" Monokuma squealed before the same gearbox rising up in front of his throne, and just like before, Monokuma pulled a comically large key out from behind himself. He thrusted the key into the gearbox and twisted it, causing all of podiums to glow and rise up from the ground. The students held onto their podiums as they rose up nearly twenty feet up into the air and rearranged themselves into two sides. One side to vote for Nekomaru, and the other to use what little time left to find the real killer.

Those that were placed on the side to vote for Nekomaru were Celestia, Kirumi, Peko, Gundham, Angie, Hiyoko, Hifumi, Teruteru, Rantaro, Miu, Kiyo, Kokichi, Sayaka, Ibuki, and even Nekomaru himself. Those that wished to find the real killer were Leon, Chihiro, Chiaki, Sakura, Gonta, Kaede, Mondo, Taka, Mikan, Shinji, Mahiru, Ryoma, Mukuro, and Nagito. Some of the students were a bit confused by their placement.

"H-hey!" Sayaka gasped. "I never said I wanted to vote for Nekomaru!"

"I haven't said that either," Rantaro said.

"True, but your words beforehand made it easy for me to split up guys up," Monokuma commented. "Oh, and before any of you guys try to stop arguing or stay quiet, think of this as sudden death. You got two minutes to finish this trial up before I get bored and end the whole thing."

Ibuki could barely hold her composure. Tears flowed down from her eyes and onto her trembling hands. Ryoma crushed his candy cigarette in his hand. Chiaki pulled her hood up over her head as she frowned. Then there was Leon. The Ultimate Baseball Star's face turned as red as his hair as he gritted his teeth at the opposing side, especially at Sayaka. Once again, she found a way to tick him off. Even Tenko was upset to see her friend on the opposing side. Sayaka sighedbefore glancing at Nekomaru.

'You really want us to execute you?' Sayaka thought to herself. 'Fine. I'll do what you want. For everyone.'

Monokuma had tinkered with his throne since the last class trial and added an anti-gravity device to the bottom of it. This time, Monokuma's seat got to actually rise up with the rest of the podiums.

"Now, get this scrum debate started!" Monokuma cheered.

Leon immediately leapt into the debate. "Nekomaru isn't even the real killer!"

"But he did trip into Kaito," Kiyo said slyly. "If he didn't, Kaito may still be alive."

"Th-there has to be more clues to who set up the trap," Chihiro said.

"But we already discussed everything we found," Sayaka said with a solemn frown.

Mukuro broke her silence. "This has to be a trick. Kokichi could still be behind this."

"Oh, so we're going to doubt Celestia's lie detecting skills now?" Kokichi snarked back.

"OK, but what about Celestia?" Mahiru asked. "They could've set up the trap and known where it was."

"I was with Miss Ludenberg the entirety of today and the night before," Kirumi answered. "She wouldn't have had the chance to set the trap."

"What about pushing?" Gonta asked. "Is Nekomaru only one that could have pushed Kaito?"

"I heard his voice," Ibuki said. "And Nekomaru admitted it."

"Kaito wouldn't want his killer to get away," Kaede shouted. "And he wouldn't want someone innocent to take the fall either!"

"But he clearly wouldn't want us to die either," Celestia said. "Do you ever get tired of talking in circles?"

"But must we truly sacrifice one of our own?" Taka asked.

"I've already said, and I'm sick of saying it," Nekomaru spoke up. "I'll give up my life for each and every one of you! Now, STOP PUTTING IT OFF OR MONOKUMA WILL KILL US ALL! YOU CAN FIND THE REAL KILLER AFTER THIS!"

Nekomaru's words served as the perfect kick to the senses everyone else in the group needed. They didn't want to do it, but he was right. They've wasted enough time protesting to keep Nekomaru safe than finding a final clue to the one who set up the shotgun trap. Any more time and Monokuma may have just killed them all to cure his boredom. With solemn looks across all of their faces, they reached their answer. Monokuma pressed a big red button on his throne's chair, which slowly brought the podiums back to their original positions on the ground.

"Bravo, bravo!" Monokuma clapped his paws together, applauding his so-called precious students. "Such a wonderful show! Now, it's voting time! Use the screens on your podiums to select who you believe is the blackened."

Each student looked down at their podium, which flipped over to show the voting screen. It didn't take long for all of them to place their votes.

"Let's tally up all your votes and see if you all picked right or oh so horribly wrong!"

Once again, a giant screen lowered down from behind Monokuma's throne before turning on. The same layout of a slot machine with all three of its slots rolling. After a few seconds of rolling each of the other students' faces, the three slots eventually stopped with three pictures of Nekomaru. The sounds of cheers, clapping, and buzzers played as the digital slot machine spat out gold coins.

"OH BABY~" Monokuma cheered. "That was the right ring-a-ding call right there! The poor sucker that tripped into Kaito was our lovely Nekomaru Nidai!"

Of course, the student body didn't share in Monokuma's cheers and joy, which was what the twisted bear wanted. As Monokuma actually blew on an airhorn and shot streamers out across the room, the students had console themselves. Hiyoko once again rushed into Angie's arms, Rantaro gently took a hold of Mikan's hand to ease her anxiety, Taka hung his head down in shame while Mondo placed his hand on his shoulder. Even Mukuro, Gundham, and Ryoma couldn't hide their sadness for Nekomaru. However, the four people most shaken up by Nekomaru's judgement were Leon, Chihiro, Ibuki, and Sayaka. Both Chihiro and Ibuki were in tears over their friend's fate while Leon's hands gripped on to the sides of his head, nearly tearing his hair out.

Then, there was Sayaka. The pop idol, filled with nothing but guilt, faced the muscular man. "I'm sorry, Nekomaru," she said. "I…I never meant for this to happen. Maybe if I didn't point that out, maybe this wouldn't have happened…"

Leon glared at Sayaka, just wishing he could reach out from his podium to strangle her, but Nekomaru grabbed a hold of Leon's shoulder. This took a hold of the baseball player's attention, and upon seeing his old couch shake his head at him, Leon relented. Sayaka wasn't the real problem, as much as she felt like she was to him.

After calming his old protégée down, Nekomaru turned to console Sayaka. "No. Keeping quiet about would've been the worst thing to do. With that time limit in place, and Rantaro pointing out tripping Kaito could count for murder…it only made sense."

"But-"

"No buts, Sayaka," Nekomaru interrupted. "It was my fault for not paying attention where we were going! The real what if here…is what if I took the time to notice?"

"No," Kaede spoke up. "All of us should've known better when we saw that maze. We shouldn't have acted so careless! We should've known better!" Kaede sighed before thinking to herself. 'Maybe…maybe we became too relaxed with you, Kaito…'

"Still, there was no need for this trial to turn out this way," Shinji said before glaring at Monokuma. "It almost makes me wonder if you changed how long we actually had to discuss this case?"

Monokuma gasped and placed his paw upon his own chest. "Whaaaaa? You really think I'd be so petty to change how much time you guys all had to for the trial because I thought you guys being stuck on something as simple as a shotgun with a string trap was really boring and I'd only find it fun if I rushed you guys into doing something stupid like all getting killed or throwing a friend of yours under the bus?"

…

"Because I wouldn't," Monokuma so generously clarified.

"So, we never had a time limit at all?!" Hifumi gasped in horror.

"You jerk!" Kaede shouted. "We could've had time to find the real killer?!"

"Can you ever stop breaking your own rules?" Peko asked, although the answer to that was quite obvious.

"Y-you fiend!" Taka clenched his fist. "We shall never forgive you for this!"

"Jesus, Taka!" Monokuma rolled his head around as he groaned. "You say this like every time, and I'm starting to worry you may have memory issues."

"Enough stalling!" Nekomaru shouted at the stuffed animal. "It's time to end this. So, just do it already."

"W-wait!" Chihiro shouted. The sudden outburst caught everyone off guard. The small Chihiro, with tears in his eyes, looked towards the giant team manager. "P-please…don't go, Nekomaru. Please. You still have to train me. You've helped me so much, but I'm…I'm not ready yet. I'm not strong enough on my own!"

Nekomaru took in Chihiro's words and smiled slightly. Stepping away from his own podium, he approached Chihiro and eventually knelt down to face him at eye level. "Chihiro, you're already strong. You choosing who you are, you actively finding ways to improve yourself, always pushing yourself in training, and managing to work on a robot prove you have strength."
Nekomaru pointed to Chihiro's chest then to his head. "Those are where your strength starts. I know you'll grow physically strong as well…And you won't be on your own." Nekomaru then pointed to the rest of the group. "They will help you. They'll have your back."

Despite how encouraging Nekomaru's words were, Chihiro was sobbing so much he had to use his palms to wipe away his tears and his arm to wipe away his snot. Still, if Nekomaru had faith in him, he would be strong. He looked his trainer in the eyes and gave a determined nod. Nekomaru smiled at Chihiro before standing up and turning to another one of his students.

"Leon!" Nekomaru called out.

"E-eh!" Leon's posture stiffened, terrified being called out.

Nekomaru crossed his arms. "You saw me trip into Kaito. Why did you try to take the fall for me?"

Leon groaned as he scratched the back of his head. "Man…ugh. Look, I know I've kind of a jerk to you sometimes. You're really irritating, you're always on my ass about sports when I keep telling you I don't care, but…you're still my couch, man. I can't just let you die, yo."

"So, the first selfless act you've ever taken, and it could've gotten everyone else killed," Celestia said with a chuckle.

"Shut up," Leon growled.

Strangely enough, Mondo would be the one to give Leon some words of advice. "Just ignore her, kid. She's always going to talk down to you."

"Leon…" Nekomaru shut his eyes, leaving a long pause of silence in the room. He would then suddenly flash a bright smile and let out a hearty laugh. "I guess all those days of making you run laps and hit homers really paid off after all! I knew you'd soften up! Well, keep it up, Leon. Whether it's baseball, music, or something else, you have the potential for something great. Don't let it go to waste!"

"BLEGH!" Monokuma stuck his tongue out while pretending to hack up some puke or saliva or…cotton. "If this sappy stuff keeps going, I'm going to hurl!"

"Very well," Nekomaru balled up his fists. "Do you worst, bear! I'm not scared of anything you have in store for me! Unlike the coward that set that trap, I'm not afraid to face death head-on! I'll give up my life for friends, because THAT'S WHAT A REAL MAN DOES!"

"Then let's give this everything we got!" Monokuma announced. "IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

"All of you," Nekomaru spoke one last time, "find Kaito's real killer. And never forget the name Nekomaru Nidai!"

A giant red rose up from the floor before Monokuma's throne. The bear decided he'd spin his wooden gavel in his hand before smashing it down onto the button. This caused the screen behind him to play a black and red, 8-bit animation of Nekomaru being dragged off screen by Monokuma.

"Game Over," text on the screen displayed. "Nekomaru has been found guilty. Time for the punishment."

Out from the shadows shot on a chained collar, which latched itself upon Nekomaru's neck. Even with how thick and muscular his neck was, the collar had no trouble practically choking him before dragging him into the darkness. The screen behind Monokuma's throne swapped to footage of a darkened room where Nekomaru was dragged into. He eventually came to a stop on top of a small, black, rectangular platform. The lights of the whole room switched on, nearly blinding the personal trainer. Once his vision reverted to normal, Nekomaru noticed that the platform he was standing upon was actually a treadmill. Just as that information sank in, a giant machine rolled out and stopped several feet behind him. It was made up several different weight machines found at a local gym. Pull up bars, pulldown bars leg pressers, chest pressers, and a cable machine all mashed together into one strange contraption. The most concerning part of all was that there was a buzzsaw, right in the middle of the machine.

As Nekomaru examined the machine, chains shot out from it, and before he ever realized it, they pierced through his arms and legs. Nekomaru howled in agony before one pulldown bar shot out and wrapped around his mouth. His howls were muffled slightly, but the pain was real and it got even worse when the chains began to pull back towards the machine. To make things more stressfully, the buzzsaw turned on, creating an ominous hum. The treadmill turned on, pushing Nekomaru back towards certain doom. Nekomaru, refusing to simply lie down and die, chose to walk forward on the treadmill.

"Pain and Gain! Execution for Nekomaur Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager!"

Treadmill's speed rose at an exponential rate, going at a speed of 4 miles an hour. It didn't sound like much for a vehicle, but for Nekomaru it was the speed of a brisk jog, which he began to do. It almost ended in disaster immediately due to the hooks and pulldown bar weighing him down. Blood leaked from his forearms and calves. Nekomaru glanced over his shoulder to see just how much he was being weigh down. Squinting his eyes, he noticed each of the five weights were only 10 pounds. Child's play for Nekomaru. The Ultimate Team Manager easily fought through the pain and jogged forward. The method of jogging was unusual, due to how the weights were attached to him. He would have to nod his head to pull on the pulldown bar and he would have to do punching motions with his arms to lift the weights on his arms. This, along with the pain of hooks digging into him, Nekomaru let out loud grunts and heavy breaths as a way to mentally encourage himself to fight on.

Just as it seemed Nekomaru had gotten into a good rhythm, a spare Monokuma stepped into room. Choosing to take the guise of a personal trainer, this monochrome bear wore a track jacket that was only partially zipped up and he had a towel in his left paw and a remote in his right. Feeling the Nekomaru wasn't pushing himself enough, Monokuma used the remote to increase the both the speed of the treadmill and the amount of weight he had to lift. At 10 miles an hour, Nekomaru had stopped jogging and was fully running, and with each of the five weights up to 30 pounds, the hooks dragged across his forearms and tugged on his calves, causing more blood to flow down his body and onto the treadmill. Still, Nekomaru persisted. He ran even faster, punched harder, and pulled as hard on the pull bar as he could with his teeth.

Blood, sweat, and tears flowed from Nekomaru, but that fiery passion, that spark of electricity inside him, kept him going. However, Monokuma just couldn't stand seeing passion push someone forward. He cranked up the speed and the weights up. Faster, faster, faster. Heavier, heavier, heavier. Nekomaru was forced to push himself to the absolute limits the human body could reach. 27 miles per hour. 310 pounds for each weight. The pain was overwhelming, blood poured like fountains down Nekomaru's limbs as the hooks pulled back on his flesh. The treadmill became lathered in the dripping blood. But a man doesn't give up. Nekomaru wouldn't give up. He pulled as hard as he could. He punched as hard as he could. He ran as fast as he could.

Nekomaru's efforts would pay off. His arms and legs would eventually break free of the hooks, with him snapping the chains right off of the machine. He even chomped down on the pulldown bar, breaking it in half. The chains and wires suddenly snapping back to the machine carried so much momentum from the strong manager that it caused the machine to fall backwards. The buzzsaw was no longer aimed at Nekomaru. Nekomaru was free…but his freedom was short lived. The very next step he took on the treadmill, he slipped on his own blood, falling face-first before the treadmill launched him back towards the machine. Nekomaru crashed against it. Sure, he was a buff, strong man, but being thrown against sturdy metal still hurt. Poor Nekomaru groaned in pain as his back nearly broke upon contact with the machine. After a moment of him trying to make the pain fade away, Nekomaru sat himself up only to notice Coach Monokuma standing right next to the treadmill.

In the twisted bear's paws was a 40-pound weight-plate. With a sinister grin across his face, he held the plate right above the still running treadmill before dropping it. The treadmill shot the weighted plate like a bullet right at Nekomaru's head, embedding itself in his head. This split his head in half, scattered a few of his teeth, and left some brain matter oozing down to his chest. Nekomaru Nidai was dead.

"Ha haha!" Monokuma cackled. "That's what happens when you aren't careful with exercise equipment!"

The group were in complete silence. No gasps of surprise, screams of terror, or growls of anger. They had looked away from the screen, their sadness clearly written across their face.

"Oh?" Monokuma leaned forward in his seat as he picked a mocking tone to speak in. "What's wrong, everyone? Bear got your tongues?"

Another moment of silence occurred before they, as if they all mentally communicated and agreed upon it, made their way over to the elevator. This shocked Monokuma, immediately turning him irate.

"What the- HEY!" Monokuma growled. "Where do you think you're going?! I got at least ten more splitting headache jokes to tell! GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!"

They all ignored their irritating headmaster before they all entered the elevator and headed back to the ground floor.

Monokuma groaned and leaned back in his throne and pinched the bridge of his snout. "Kids these days."

Some of the students had separated from the majority of the group. Celestia's group had broken off on their own, which was to be expected. Same with Angie's group. Mikan and Chihiro were a shaken up by the carnage they saw and retreated to their rooms. Miu was hardly someone to interact with the others while they were grieving, so she just dragged Nagito with her back to her lab. What was more surprising was that Ibuki had ran off to her room as soon as they elevator opened back up. This left the rest of the group to head towards the cafeteria. They weren't eating lunch. They were simply seated at the main table, silent as they processed the fate that befell their headstrong friends. Even Kokichi kept his sarcastic quips to the absolute minimum. Mondo shifted his sitting posture, trying to shake free those uncomfortable emotions swelling inside him. Sick of it all, the biker stood up from his chair.

"I'm getting a fucking drink," Mondo grumbled.

"A drink?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Like alcohol?"

"Yeah," Mondo said. "Hell, I'll get some for all ya."

"Bro," Taka stood up, "alcohol is not welcome in-"

"Bro, I love ya, man, but for once can you shut up?" Mondo interrupted. "We've seen too much fucked up shit here. We gotta take the edge off."

Before Taka would have another chance to protest, Mondo had already made his way into the kitchen. After a few moments, he came back out with two bottles of wine and several wine glasses.

"Couldn't find any beer," Mondo said. "Hope this works well enough."

"Wine is less bitter to drink, so good call…I think," Chiaki said.

"Wine is also more customarily appropriate for gatherings such as this," Kiyo lectured.

Mondo would pass around wine glasses before passing around the bottles for everyone to pour themselves.

"Thanks, Mondo…" Kaede said with a weak smile. "…I'm sure Kaito and Nekomaru would've enjoyed this too."

"Would they?" Shinji asked. "I'm sure they'd enjoy spending time like this, but they don't strike me as wine connoisseurs."

"Nekomaru wouldn't turn down wine," Mahiru said. "The party we had on Jabberwock Island had a bunch of it. I'm pretty sure he had some."

"Well…Kaito probably wouldn't," Kaede said before frowning. "Sorry to bring them up. I just wish they didn't have to go through that."

"Don't apologize, Akamatsu," Taka said while refusing a wine glass. "We all miss them."

Rantaro frowned as well. "I wish things could've turned out differently."

Tenko tapped her fingers against her wine glass. "I know I've been a bit hard on them at times…but I guess Kaito and Nekomaru really were okay guys."

"Then why don't we make this a toast?" Ryoma suggested. "They definitely seemed like to guys who'd be into that."

"You know what? That is an excellent suggestion!" Taka smiled. "Everyone, join me in raising a glass to our fallen friends!"

After everyone poured themselves a full glass of wine, they raised their glasses up high.

"I declare this toast in honor to both Momota and Nidai!" Taka shouted proudly.

"To Kaito and Nekomaru," Kaede said.

"To Gonta's friends," Gonta said.

"To Nekomaru and Kaito," Leon said.

The rest group were silent with their toasts. Even Kokichi had gotten into it.

'I will miss that lughead,' Kokichi thought to himself. 'You were never quite my intellectual rival, but you were always fun to faceoff with, Kaito.'

While everyone was mourning the loss of their friends, Sayaka's thoughts were in a different direction. Not that she wasn't saddened by Kaito or Nekomaru's deaths, but she felt more guilt.

'I can't believe I fell for Monokuma's lies about the time limit,' Sayaka thought to herself. 'I should've just stuck with looking for the real killer. If I hadn't said anything about hearing a voice…'

"Sayaka?" Tenko broke the idol's train of thought. "Are you ok?"

Sayaka glanced at Tenko before looking back at the rest of the group. "I…I'm sorry. If I hadn't-"

"Sayaka, Nekomaru said it wasn't your fault," Chiaki spoke up. "And I agree with him. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't Ibuki's either. The two of you were scared of dying, and in that moment both of you thought of the only way you could keep us all from dying."

"And if Monokuma didn't put us into a panic, we could've found more clues to the true culprit's identity," Taka clenched his fist in anger.

"But we blew that chance, and two innocent people are dead," Leon snapped. "We should feel like crap for that!"

"But wallowing in our own misery is the last thing either of them would want us to do," Sakura said. "For tonight, we can mourn, we can be sad. But tomorrow, we'll began anew. We'll set things right by finding the real killer."

"That's right," Chiaki agreed. "So, please. Have faith in yourselves. Kaito and Nekomaru had faith in you. All of you." When the gamer said that, her eyes locked onto Shinji, hoping he'd understand what she was saying.

'Even me? Even if I was lying about my identity?' the Ultimate Imposter thought to himself. 'So, even Taka shunned me, Kaito wished to have me back…that's very like him.'

"Okay," Sayaka spoke up. "We'll set things right. I promise."

Celestia had been in her ultimate lab with Kirumi, Peko, and Gundham for a few hours since the class trial. They were hardly the most talkative people, but even while Celeste played a game of solitaire, the silence became too much for the gambler. She looked up to her followers and saw how each of them hung their heads in sadness. With a sigh, Celestia leaned back in her seat and rested her head against her hand.

"Was the trial truly heartbreaking to you all?" Celestia asked.

Gundham crossed his arms in his best attempt to look tough. "Nekomaru had once given his life to me for the sake of our classmates, and once again he gave his life. Only this time it was out of his control. As for Momota, his killer chose the path of a coward, setting up a trap rather than fighting him to the death!"

"Kaito may have been…shortsighted, but he only ever had the group's best interests in mind," Kirumi said solemnly.

"True, this case was crude and cruel," Celestia said, pretending to have an actual empathy for what had befell the two strong men. "Still, we must take this opportunity to find any benefits to us."

"How could this have benefitted us in any way?" Peko asked.

"Simple, the killer showed that there are ways to manipulate the trails," Celeste grew a sinister smirk. "And with such a simple trap too. My friends, we may have a way to outsmart that awful Monokuma."

"I am a bit worried how thrilled you are about finding ways to get away with murder," Peko said.

"Oh, my dear, Peko. Don't worry. None of you would ever be my target," Celeste smiled. "Besides, this should something you consider as well. It's not like none us have committed murder."

Kirumi stroked her chin. "Perhaps if we planned things out right, all four of us could lead the group to the other floors."

"Still, it is a shame we couldn't find the true identity of the killer," Gundham said.

"That doesn't mean we can't make an educated guess," Celeste said. "It has to be someone who's intelligent enough set up a trap and inconspicuous enough to sneak past Mukuro and avoid our questions. I'm honestly impressed by their thinking."

"There is one thing that confuses me," Kiirumi said. "They clearly had to explore the maze and discover the exit…yet, why did they ignore the motive at the end?"

"The treasure chest at the end was unlocked, but its contents were never removed," Gundham commented.

Celeste placed her cards onto the table before reaching into her jacket pocket to take another look at the motive. It was a photo of the class of the Ultimate Academy, all smiling and standing together like any other class portrait. What really caught Celeste's attention though was the building behind them. It wasn't some random academy. It was Hope's Peak Academy.

"It certainly raises some questions, doesn't it?" Celeste said.

Mikan had been held up in her room for hours. She wasn't sure how many hours. She didn't bother to look at her clock since the class trial. She had been blowing into tissues and sobbing constantly since she returned to her room. After carefully throwing away her twentieth tissue, Mikan heard her doorbell ring. She quickly wiped away her remaining tears before approaching the door and opening it. It was, of course, Rantaro. The lime-haired boy had a plate of green beans, rice mixed with peppers, porkchops, and apple slices.

"Hello, Mikan," Rantaro said with a polite smile. "Are feeling any better?"

Mikan shook her head. "N-no. N-no matter how m-many times-"

"I know, I know," Rantaro said with a calm whisper. "Sorry I didn't stop by sooner. I got a bit busy cleaning up."

"I-it's ok…" Mikan eyed the dinner plate. "C-can I have some food?"

"Oh, of course," Rantaro smiled before handing over Mikan's dinner. "I hope you like it. Would you like me to come in?"

"I-I'd like to eat by m-myself," Mikan said before blushing. "B-but…I'd like for you to c-come by l-l-later." Mikan, not so subtly, placed her hand on Rantaro's chest.

"Oh…" Rantaro coughed awkwardly. "I'm…flattered you'd want to with me, Mikan, but I…"

"P-please?" Mikan begged. "I just…I-I'm so stressed a-and I-I don't know how else to calm down…I-I trust you, Rantaro. I know you w-wouldn't do anything to hurt me. I just w-want you to still b-be my friend."

"Of course, I'll still be your friend, Mikan," Rantaro said before pausing for a moment. He let out a sigh before giving another polite smile. "OK. How about this? I'll stop by after you're done eating. I just can't promise we'll do anything out of the ordinary."

Mikan smiled brightly and giggled to herself. "Thank you, Rantaro. I'll see you soon."

Mikan closed the door on Rantaro to go eat her dinner. As Rantaro was left alone in the hallway, he let out a long sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"Mikan, Mikan, you poor girl," he mumbled to himself. "This can't just be what Junko did to you. What did you go through before all this?"

After running his hand through his hair, Rantaro stuck his hand into his pocket. He paused. His eyes widened in terror. He quickly dashed back to his own room, shut the door and locked it tight. He felt around in his pocket, before pulling out the thing he didn't want anyone to see. A spare shotgun shell. He walked over to his desk and tossed the shell into the trash bin before taking a seat. Wiping some sweat from his forehead, he took note of the silver key one the desk. The skeleton key he had won from the Mono Machine from the game room. Rantaro took it and slipped it into his pocket.

"That was too close," Rantaro said with panicked breath. "Now…where was I?"

Chapter 2: Complete

Number of Students Remaining: 29

This took some time. I have some regrets over it. Mainly that I wished I had at least one more scene of Nekomaru with Chihiro and one more scene of Leon and Nekomaru. I also hate how much longer I wrote Nekomaru's execution when compared to Tsumugi's. I guess I'm afraid it will come across as gratuitous and cruel for someone that's basically innocent. I know that complaint has been thrown Danganronpa/any horror story's way from time to time. I like the idea as a whole for the execution, but that along with the pacing has me worried.

As for the choice of victim, I always had the idea of a killer getting away due to a technicality. I think it can work, but again, I am worried how all of you will react to it. I know this will at least get the wheels going more for Chihiro's growth and even Leon. I want these character deaths to matter. DR1 and sometimes 2 had a real bad problem of deaths not really impacting the cast. I really want Kaito and Nekomaru's passing to really matter for the group.

The real killer was always going to be Rantaro. If you take a look back at some parts, something was a bit off with him. He's always had some underlying darkness in V3, but due to dying in Chapter 1, we never see how dark that he truly can be.

Another thing I'm not too proud of is how much Sayaka sat back for the end of this trial. I tried to fit her back in at spots. I mean, it's a great idea. She's basically forced to do what she attempted to do back in DR1, sending someone to their death to save herself. I'll expand on this better for Chapter 3.

Speaking of Chapter 3, I now 2024 just started, January's halfway over, and we only just finished Chapter 2, but I may take a week long break from writing this. I got my own personal projects I want to expand upon outside of just being first draft outlines. I got to get to those. But don't worry. February will be all about Losers Reunion. First with edits to fix all those damn typos in Chapter 1 and 2. So, that'll be something.

Everyone, thank you for your patience. All of you reading this story and telling me how much you love it really means a lot to me. I really hope that you're still loving it. I'll see you soon.